This is the last in a series of seven articles that tell you how to sift through all the home business opportunities you hear about every day, and find the PERFECT home based business for you.What makes an opportunity P.E.R.F.E.C.T.? In the first six articles in this series, we learned that the “P” in PERFECT stands for “Profitable”, the first “E” in PERFECT means “Easy”, the “R” stands for “Real”, the “F” means “Fits With Your Desired Lifestyle”, the second “E” stands for “E-friendly”, and the “C” means “Competitive”.Now, as you and I know, many so-called home business “opportunities” are not really opportunities. They’re not profitable. In fact, some of them will suck money out of your wallet faster than a vacuum. Many are certainly not easy. They’re not real. And, as a business, they can take so much effort that they own you, rather than you owning them. That kind of “all work and no play” makes it very hard for you to achieve the freedom you dream of, and to live the lifestyle you want.Many of these “business opportunities” don’t use the internet effectively and often require you to sell something to your friends and neighbors that they don’t really need. And, many will have you selling the same thing thousands of other people are selling. It’s hard to be competitive that way. Other problems and unpleasant surprises often show up in some of these business opportunities only after you have invested lots of your time and money.If you are finally ready to start making some real money in your own home business and stop throwing your money down the “home business opportunity rat hole”, then test every home based business opportunity to make sure it fits the definition of The P.E.R.F.E.C.T. Home Business, before you invest your time and money.Now, on to the last letter and key in the word “PERFECT”.Key Number Seven:The “T” in PERFECT stands for “Testable At Low Risk”. Who wants to start a business that requires you to spend $50,000 before you know if you will be successful or not? Not me! I always want to minimize my risk and to know quickly what is going to be profitable and what is not.Testable At Low Risk Means:• You can test your business, product, or service idea quickly and inexpensively to see if it is likely to be successful.The PERFECT Home Based Business allows you to test an idea inexpensively, often for less than $100, and almost always for less than $1,000.• Then, when you have some proof of possible success, you can roll out your efforts and invest more money in your business with a much greater comfort level that you will be successful on a larger scale. Don’t go blindly forward, spending all of your available cash on any business idea, without testing, testing, and testing some more first right up front.Now that you know the Seven Keys to a PERFECT home based business, make sure the opportunity you grab hold of has all of the Seven Keys. A business that is PROFITABLE, EASY, and REAL. It FITS WITH YOUR DESIRED LIFESTYLE, is E-FRIENDLY, COMPETITIVE, and is TESTABLE AT LOW RISK.
Determining Whether or Not to Start a Home Based Business
One of the foremost determinations you are going to need to make when you are thinking about starting a home based business is whether or not you are going to operate it on a full time basis or on a part time basis. For some professionals, you will be required to work full time in order to launch your business. If you are operating a small business from home in your spare time then you will not need to commit nearly the same amount of time or energy in regards to launching your new business venture. This is especially true if you are starting a business that sells products online. However, if you intend to develop a service based business then you may need to commit a substantial amount of time and capital towards developing your brand name for your home based business. As we have discussed in some of our previous articles, you should focus substantially on the benefits as well as the drawbacks to starting a home based business.Beyond the time factor that is involved with determining whether or not you should start a home based business, you are also going to need to examine the capital costs involved. Although you are not going to be starting an office, you are definitely going to need to have a computer, establish a website, obtain business cards, and have a clearly defined marketing budget. However, while these may seem like large expenses, we have seen home based businesses launch their operations for as little as $1,000. As such, prior to starting this type of business enterprise you may want to focus on developing an appropriate budget that outlines both your anticipated expenses as well as your expected revenues. In many instances, it may be in your best interest to develop a business plan specific to your industry. Within this business plan you should focus not only on the start up costs, but also on your expected profit and loss statement, cash flow analysis, as well as your balance sheet. The more organized you are in regards to your business the more likely that your home based business with be successful.Finally, you should work with your accountant to determine what type of corporate structure that your home based business may need prior to launching operations. This is important as their could be substantial ramifications if you do not launch this type of new business venture appropriately.
A Simple Product Creation and Product Launching Formula
If you tried to think of people involved in product creation, who would come to mind? You may think of Edison, Franklin, or maybe Henry Ford. Would you ever think of yourself as someone who can create a quality product? Product creation is actually relatively easy and product launching is not that tough either! If you follow a few easy to understand steps, you could be starting the product creation and product launching process sooner than you think.
The first step in creating your information product is to know and understand your market. This can be very time-consuming, especially if you are unsure of what to do or where to look to know your market. Studying your niche market and understanding the buzz words and buying patterns can ease the process dramatically. Personally, I would recommend networking with someone who has had success in the niche market you are considering and learn from their results. If they are into product creation and not very business savvy expect some hesitation. If they only sell products and have nothing to do with product launching or product creation you may your first affiliate (sales person)! Something else you can use to find hot trends is with the Google Trends tool.
The second step is the product creation process. Take your niche market and brainstorm ideas and topics relating to it. There are a lot of product launching contests going on recently relating to a newly created internet marketing tool. There are so many aspects to the mentioned niche that literally, and unfortunately, anything can be considered an Internet Marketing tool. The reason that anyone can basically create an Internet Marketing tool is because of something called Private Label Rights products.
What I use private label rights products for, and highly recommend them in this specific manner, is to cure writer’s block especially when it is lingering. Many people base their entire product creation and product launching on a private label rights product. This is where you can start to shine and build a strong brand for yourself. If you set goals for yourself, short-term goals to be exact, you can see your product creation come into being much faster and there is a good chance with less revision needed. If you keep hitting time restraint road blocks; however there is nothing wrong with a slow and steady approach, you can consider outsourcing portions of your project. Outsourcing can be an extremely huge benefit or just as great of a disaster.
You can find someone to outsource work to at a freelance site such as Guru.com or eLance.com. When reviewing proposals it is almost mandatory you perform a background check on them as you are in essence hiring them. Doing a background check on freelancers is as easy as asking for samples of their work and reviewing feedback on the freelance site from previous customers. Depending on the size and requirements of your project this can add up to a decent sized investment, so caution is very important. One tip I always recommend to people looking to hire an individual is to ask them what they can provide you that no one else can. This simple question gives them a chance to “toot their own horn” and acknowledge where they feel most competent as far as their skill set.
The final portion of the product creation and product launching formula is the launch. This can literally make or break the effort, time, and maybe (if you invested) money you put in to your project. There are numerous aspects to product launching and although their relevance is debated in terms to their effect, experts agree all must be followed. The person in your field who you asked for product advice from can help you substantially if you have kept in touch. If not, the first thing you need to do is to create a visually appealing website with flawless design work.
I also mentioned outsourcing before, this is one aspect of product launching I have little strength in and I always outsource this portion. The website does not have to be large however the content (ad copy in Internet Marketing) must be stellar and as perfect as possible. This is where advertising knowledge or experience is beneficial. When the site is set up you now put a lead capture form on your website.
I put two lead capture pages on all products I create on the internet and is one of the best methods of getting a solid start when you are in the product launching stage. When you gain information from a prospect or someone looking to get paid for referring sales you are able to provide them updates or specials. Many people abuse their prospect or affiliate lists by in turn emailing them with a new product daily and I find the recommendations to be totally unrelated to their original need, problem, or interest.
Another stage in the product launching stage is creating a free report or demo version of your product to entice the product to sign up to your email list. Using proper follow up with this can help generate numerous sales for you. One thing you need to ensure is that your free product completely relates to your main product that you are looking to sell.
You are now ready to advertise your product launching to customers as well as the opportunity to sell for affiliates. This is the single aspect that many product creations and launches fail on. It is actually not entirely difficult. One thing you can do is write articles (and a good amount of them) on topics relating to your product. I am a huge advocate of giving a solution in forums. When you join a forum you are normally offered the opportunity to create a signature. In your signature, you should enter the link to your opt-in or lead capture page. When you respond to posts, you are advertising your opportunity.
It is not impossible to create a product and it does not have to take a long time. You need to setup a plan and stick to it. If you get stuck, look at similar and successful products to your own and try and see how they did it. When you sit down and brainstorm you will be surprised with what you can imagine.